Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

Kindly answer the following questions 1-I have taken 2 in infusions of remicade, third loading dose which was to be a month apart after second dose has been delayed due to an infection. I have no relief. I have problems with my insurance company, as they do not believe that the medicine is not affective on me. Are there tests which can indicate the affectivness of remicade 2-Secondly what alternate medicines are avilable, incase remicade does not continue to be affective, 3-Also please let me know if remicade works for me, will I have to stay on it LIFE LONG or at some point on can be off this drug, as I plan to move out of my present country of residence in few years and country I plan to go I would not be able to afford this medicine.

In the year2000 I was told I had RA.All tests done like rafactor 45 sed rate ,proreactive test all showed low readings also got lymerix shot ,after first shot came done with lyme so Doctor take ,medication for a month .because I didnt have a lot of joint damage they wouldnt give me anything but vioxx and celebrex but gave me problems and so they said there was nothing I could do till I had more damage regardless of pain,I went to another Doctor and he said no I only had osteoarthritis,My new Doctor says go get checked again because there is damage and any time i try to work Im almost criple for the rest of the day or it will last a whole weekend,I sold my car no insurance and need to know the best way to deal with this what ever it is,could it be lyme doing this to me?I had to quit my job and now have just gotten one for a day a week and its almost killing me Im so tired Im tring to lose weight,I tooksome pill form hyaluronic acid pills for about a week or so and my knees and part of my legs had like a fluid  making them swell some one had said it might help.what is the best way now to find out what this might be in the way of xray or mri?

I have recently had blood test which show RF of 562 and CCP of 101.  To me, these sound terrifyingly high.  I have had just mild aches in ankles or knees for about 5 months and then two weeks ago woke with every joint hurting, hence the blood tests.  Will these high levels reduce?  How significant are they?  From what I’ve read, they seem to indicate a more severe disease progression, but it has really just come ‘out of the blue’.  I am a very fit 60 year old.

I am considering taking Rituxan for Rheumatoid Arthritis and I was wondering how long the IV takes to administer?

My doctor now says I have erosive arthritis.  I said of course it’s erosive – it’s arthritis( 7 years RA diagnosis). Is this something new?

April 2004 I gave my uncle mouth to mouth resuscitation in his end stage of Pulmonary Fibrosis-he did not revive. Last month I had a 16.3 RAF Rh/Rheumatoid Factor and have had incredible pain in hips, knees, spinal column-and lethargy. Could I have gotten Rheumatoid Arthritis from my attempt at CPR for my uncle without a mask?